BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Fishermen in Argentina have caught a tope shark inside which they apparently found the remains of a man who went missing a few weeks ago in the south of the country.
The family of Diego Barría, 32, recognized the body by a visible tattoo, said Daniela Millatruz, the agent in charge of the search, in statements to the local press. Barría was last seen on February 18 in an SUV near the coast in the southern province of Chubut.
The damaged vehicle was located two days later on a beach near Rocas Coloradas, but there was no sign of Barria, so an intense search began in an attempt to find the man, a father of three.
On Sunday morning, two fishermen went with the Coast Guard to report that they had caught three tope sharks near where Barría’s vehicle was found and “when it was time to clean them up, one of them had remnants of human dermis,” Millatruz said. His relatives recognized Barría “by a tattoo that appeared on one of these remains”, he added.
Authorities continue to investigate what exactly happened in Barría.
“We assume Diego had an accident,” Millatruz said, “and are investigating whether a vehicle was involved.”
The remains will also be subjected to DNA analysis to officially confirm that they belong to Barría, said Cristian Ansaldo, head of the Comodoro Rivadavia city police department, in an interview with local press.
The shark in which the human remains were found measured about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), Ansaldo said.
The most likely hypothesis investigators are currently working on is that Barría “had an accident and was swept away,” Ansaldo said, noting that there was a strong surge in the tide the weekend he crashed. gone.
“My heart went with you! Love you forever,” wrote on Facebook Virginia Brugger, who was identified as Barría’s partner and had posted updates on the search to her social media.